So now the elusive headlight has been found and i have the whole front end in parts and have fixed the steering, it's time to send the car to the body shop right?
Eh, not quite.
As much as the engine cranks strong and I think the problem is ECU telling the car not to start due to certain parts not being connected. The fact the engine will be taken out to repair body has left me with the niggling feeling that I'd like to hear the engine start before it goes in.
To achieve this at the bare minimum i need to fix the accessory belt. This involves replacing a few broken pulleys and belt along with the broken air con compressor and bracket.
As detailed in previous posts, the bent chassis leg has pinned the compressor in place. Meaning I can't remove the old one.
So I got to thinking could bend the leg over enough to release the compressor? NO CHANCE!!!
2-3mm thick steel strengthen structure that was already crimpled was not going to budge by hand unless I spontaneously developed super human strength. Which is why body shops use hydraulic rams to push and pull.
My neighbour then suggested I cut a small piece off to release the compressor. But the gap was tight and couldn't get the dremel in their and didn't fancy using an angle grinder as I'd probably chop my arm off somehow. In the end I was able to cut the smallest piece off using nothing but a hacksaw and a lot of elbow grease.
An hour later and this was the result...
As you can see from the pics, only a small sliver of a piece was needed to be cut to free the compressor. You can see how much the leg had been bent in that cross section. This is why we would straighten the leg as much as possible then cut and replace.
Also you can see the compressor and the bracket took the brunt of the impact and broke their mountings. This is actually a good thing and testament to good engineering. As if they didn't break I could be looking at engine block damage instead. As it stands all the block side mounting points look fine.
I had a look at the intercooler charge pipe whilst there and could see some tiny damage but already had decided to replaced due to intercooler side coupling damaged.
I actually have a new compressor already. Which I got from a breaker at a steal for £150. The only issue is the part numbers do not match exactly.
It came from an M135i LCI and the BMW part number is different. RealOEM says neither the original or newer compressor is exchangeable with the LCI version. However the look identical, have same Denso part number (albeit newer revision) and are rated the same and use same bracket.
So this will be either a moment of brilliance on my part or an exercise in futility - time will tell.
Next i plan to get all the pieces to repair the accessory belt. New pulleys and belt.
Hopefully after that it will just be a case of connecting up some of the front end parts like the radiator to trick the car into to starting.
But am running close to top end of budget so finances will slow things down.
If you can spare some beer tokens or click on some ads here it would be greatly appreciated and help the cause immensely.
Catch you soon
Eh, not quite.
As much as the engine cranks strong and I think the problem is ECU telling the car not to start due to certain parts not being connected. The fact the engine will be taken out to repair body has left me with the niggling feeling that I'd like to hear the engine start before it goes in.
To achieve this at the bare minimum i need to fix the accessory belt. This involves replacing a few broken pulleys and belt along with the broken air con compressor and bracket.
The Problem
As detailed in previous posts, the bent chassis leg has pinned the compressor in place. Meaning I can't remove the old one.
2-3mm thick steel strengthen structure that was already crimpled was not going to budge by hand unless I spontaneously developed super human strength. Which is why body shops use hydraulic rams to push and pull.
My neighbour then suggested I cut a small piece off to release the compressor. But the gap was tight and couldn't get the dremel in their and didn't fancy using an angle grinder as I'd probably chop my arm off somehow. In the end I was able to cut the smallest piece off using nothing but a hacksaw and a lot of elbow grease.
An hour later and this was the result...
As you can see from the pics, only a small sliver of a piece was needed to be cut to free the compressor. You can see how much the leg had been bent in that cross section. This is why we would straighten the leg as much as possible then cut and replace.
Also you can see the compressor and the bracket took the brunt of the impact and broke their mountings. This is actually a good thing and testament to good engineering. As if they didn't break I could be looking at engine block damage instead. As it stands all the block side mounting points look fine.
I had a look at the intercooler charge pipe whilst there and could see some tiny damage but already had decided to replaced due to intercooler side coupling damaged.
New Compressor
I actually have a new compressor already. Which I got from a breaker at a steal for £150. The only issue is the part numbers do not match exactly.
It came from an M135i LCI and the BMW part number is different. RealOEM says neither the original or newer compressor is exchangeable with the LCI version. However the look identical, have same Denso part number (albeit newer revision) and are rated the same and use same bracket.
So this will be either a moment of brilliance on my part or an exercise in futility - time will tell.
Current Plan
Next i plan to get all the pieces to repair the accessory belt. New pulleys and belt.
Hopefully after that it will just be a case of connecting up some of the front end parts like the radiator to trick the car into to starting.
But am running close to top end of budget so finances will slow things down.
If you can spare some beer tokens or click on some ads here it would be greatly appreciated and help the cause immensely.
Catch you soon
